US3411707A - Apparatus for preventing gas flow through bearings - Google Patents

Apparatus for preventing gas flow through bearings Download PDF

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Publication number
US3411707A
US3411707A US625423A US62542367A US3411707A US 3411707 A US3411707 A US 3411707A US 625423 A US625423 A US 625423A US 62542367 A US62542367 A US 62542367A US 3411707 A US3411707 A US 3411707A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
bearing
pressure
compressor
zone
bearings
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US625423A
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English (en)
Inventor
Zoehfeld Gunther
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Rotron Manufacturing Co Inc
Original Assignee
Rotron Manufacturing Co Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Rotron Manufacturing Co Inc filed Critical Rotron Manufacturing Co Inc
Priority to US625423A priority Critical patent/US3411707A/en
Priority to GB03557/68A priority patent/GB1166012A/en
Priority to NL6804057A priority patent/NL6804057A/xx
Priority to FR1559385D priority patent/FR1559385A/fr
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US3411707A publication Critical patent/US3411707A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
    • F04D—NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT PUMPS
    • F04D29/00—Details, component parts, or accessories
    • F04D29/06—Lubrication
    • F04D29/063—Lubrication specially adapted for elastic fluid pumps
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
    • F04D—NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT PUMPS
    • F04D23/00—Other rotary non-positive-displacement pumps
    • F04D23/008—Regenerative pumps
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
    • F04D—NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT PUMPS
    • F04D25/00—Pumping installations or systems
    • F04D25/02—Units comprising pumps and their driving means
    • F04D25/06—Units comprising pumps and their driving means the pump being electrically driven
    • F04D25/0606—Units comprising pumps and their driving means the pump being electrically driven the electric motor being specially adapted for integration in the pump
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
    • F04D—NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT PUMPS
    • F04D29/00—Details, component parts, or accessories
    • F04D29/08—Sealings
    • F04D29/10—Shaft sealings
    • F04D29/102—Shaft sealings especially adapted for elastic fluid pumps
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16C—SHAFTS; FLEXIBLE SHAFTS; ELEMENTS OR CRANKSHAFT MECHANISMS; ROTARY BODIES OTHER THAN GEARING ELEMENTS; BEARINGS
    • F16C33/00—Parts of bearings; Special methods for making bearings or parts thereof
    • F16C33/72—Sealings
    • F16C33/76—Sealings of ball or roller bearings
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16J—PISTONS; CYLINDERS; SEALINGS
    • F16J15/00—Sealings
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16C—SHAFTS; FLEXIBLE SHAFTS; ELEMENTS OR CRANKSHAFT MECHANISMS; ROTARY BODIES OTHER THAN GEARING ELEMENTS; BEARINGS
    • F16C2360/00—Engines or pumps
    • F16C2360/42—Pumps with cylinders or pistons
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16C—SHAFTS; FLEXIBLE SHAFTS; ELEMENTS OR CRANKSHAFT MECHANISMS; ROTARY BODIES OTHER THAN GEARING ELEMENTS; BEARINGS
    • F16C2360/00—Engines or pumps
    • F16C2360/44—Centrifugal pumps

Definitions

  • This invention relates to the retention of lubricant in bearings and, more particularly, to a highly effective and yet inexpensive arrangement for preventing lubricant from being blown out of bearings by diflerential pressures across them.
  • one or more bearings may be subjected to differential gas pressures which can cause a fiow of gas through them. Over a period of time, even a small gas flow can gradually blow out the lubricant to an extent that the bearing ultimately fails. Accordingly, many machines are designed with elaborate bearing seals to retain lubricant in the bearing and provide lifetime lubrication for it. The efiectiveness of these seals varies, but in any case they are often costly to produce, and their inclusion in a machine can significantly increase its production cost.
  • the invention includes providing a pressure balance zone adjacent one side of and in free fluid communication with the bearing and also in free communication with the area or zone of the machine located on the opposite side of the bearing.
  • the pressure balance zone is substantially sealed ofi from the remaining machine zone so that pressure communication is reduced to a-minimum.
  • the respective compressor chambers may be at substantially diflerent gas pressures.
  • the compressor chambers are, moreover, in communication with clearance spaces 12 and 14 defined between the impellers 36 and 38 and the housing flanges 32 and 34, respectively, and these spaces will of course also be at different pressures wherever the compressor chambers are.
  • the clearance space 12 may be at a pressure P which is substantially greater than a pressure P in the clearance space 14.
  • the air or other gas being compressed in the machine may leak from the space 12 to the space 14 by passing through the bearing 26, the air gap between the motor stator 20 and rotor 22, and the bearing 28 into the lower pressure space 14.
  • Such a flow of gas through the bearings 26 and 28 would over a period of time blow out the lubricant and would render the bearings highly susceptible to overheating and burning out.
  • the zone 50 is defined (1) by a spacer ring 52 mounted on the inwardly facing surface of the flange 34 and abutting the end of the outer bearing race 28a of the bearing 28, (2) by the outer surfaces of a central hub 38b by which the impeller 38 is mounted on the shaft 24 and a spacer ring 54 mounted between the hub 38b and the inner bearing race 28b, and (3) by a sealing ring 58 attached by screws 60 to the housing flange 34.
  • the inner edge of the sealing ring 58 is at a minimum clearance from the outer surface of the impeller hub 38b so that gas flow between the pressure balance space 50 and the clearance space 14 is kept at a minimum so as to maintain optimum efliciency of operation of the compressor.
  • a multiplicity of circumferentially spaced-apart passages 56 are formed in the housing flange 34 and the spacer 52 to communicate freely the motor cavity 16 of the housing with the pressure balance zone 50.
  • the passages 56 in effect, constitute a pressure bypass around the bearing and afford the relatively free communication of pressure between the cavity 16 and the pressure balance zone 50.
  • the flange 32 of the left housing member a is formed with a plurality of circumferentially spaced-apart pressure balance holes 62 which afford free communication of pressure between the left clearance space 12 and the motor cavity 16.
  • the bearing pressure equalization arrangement operates in the following manner. Assuming as before that the pressure P in the left clearance space 12 is substantially greater than the pressure P in the right clearance space 14, the pressure P in the left part of the cavity 16 will be substantially equal to the pressure P in the space 12, inasmuch as the pressure balance holes 62 provide substantially free communication between the left part of the cavity 16 and the space 12. The pressure P in the right part of the motor cavity 16 will be substantially equal to the pressure P inasmuch as the air gap constitutes a passage between the left and right portions of the cavity.
  • the pressure R will be relatively freely communicated through the passageways 56 to the pressure balance zone 50 so that the pressure P in the pressure balance zone will be substantially equal to the pressure P
  • the flow from the pressure balance zone 50 to the clearance space 14 resulting from the pressure differential between P and P is kept at a minimum, and in particular is only a small fraction of the possible gas flow rate through the passageways 56 inasmuch as the clearance between the sealing ring 58 and the impeller rotor shaft assembly is minimal. Accordingly, any gas leakage from the pressure balance zone 50 to the clearance space 14 will not significantly affect the pressure P in the pressure balance zone.
  • the pressure P in the pressure balance zone is not substantially less than the pressure P in the clearance space 12. Accordingly, the flow of air (or other gas being compressed by the compressor) from the higher pressure compressor to the lower pressure stage is minimized. Moreover, the pressures on opposite sides of the respective bearings 26 and 28 are substantially equal so that air flow through the respective bearings is substantially prevented. Accordingly, there is no tendency for lubricant to be blown out of the bearings.
  • the arrangement of the invention can be provided with a minimum of change in the structure of the compressor.
  • the arrangement can be provided by merely drilling the pressure balance holes 62, the passages '56 and installing and sealing ring 58 on what is otherwise a substantially unchanged device.
  • Many other existing machines in which the problem of lubricant blow-out occurs can similarly be modified at low cost to provide an effective solution to the problem.
  • a machine having a fixed member, a bearing carried by the fixed member, a rotary member carried by the bearing and means defining a first zone on one side of the bearing and a second zone on the other side of the bearing, the said zones being at different gas pressures when the machine is in operation
  • the combination therewith of means for restricting the passage of gas through the bearing to prevent lubricant from being blown out of the bearing comprising means defining a presure balance zone adjacent the said one side of the bearing and in substantially free gas pressure communication with the said one side, means communicating the pressure balance zone with the said second zone to maintain the pressure balance zone at substantially the same pressure as the second zone, and seal means between the pressure balance zone and the said first zone to restrict gas pressure cornmunication between the pressure balance zone and the first zone.
  • sealing means is constituted by a close clearance between the fixed and rotary members on the said one side of the bearing.
  • a compressor having a housing member defining an interior cavity, a bearing carried by the housing, a shaft rotatably carried by the bearing, and a compressor stage including an impeller fixed to the shaft, the housing member including a portion carrying the bearing and constituting a barrier between the compressor stage and the interior cavity, the combination therewith of means for restricting the passage of gas between the compressor stage and the cavity through the bearing to prevent lubricant from being blown out of the bearing comprising means defining a pressure balance zone adjacent the bearing and in substantially free gas pressure communication with both ends of the bearing, means communicating the pressure balance zone with the internal cavity and with the compressor stage, and seal means in one of the said communicating means to restrict communication of pressure therethrough so as to limit pressure leakage between the compressor stage and internal cavity.
  • a compressor according to claim 3 wherein the barrier part includes a portion spaced from and defining with the rotary member the pressure balance zone, said pressure balance zone being annular and generally coincident with the bearing, a passage formetd in the barrier communicating the internal cavity with the pressure balance zone and wherein the seal means is constituted by a close clearance between the barrier and the rotary shaft.
  • a compressor having a housing, a pair of spacedapart compressor stages adapted to operate at different pressures, spaced bearings carried by the housing and located between the compressor stages and means defining an internal cavity in the housing subject to gas comm-unication with the compressor stages through the bearings, the combination therewith of means for restricting the passage of gas through the bearings to prevent lubricants from being blown out by fluid flow therethrough between the respective compressor stages through the internal cavity compresing pressure equalization means between one compressor stage and the internal cavity, means defining a pressure balance zone adjacent the second bearing and in substantially free gas pressure communication therewith, means communicating the internal cavity with the pressure balance zone to maintain the pressure balance zone at substanteially the same pressure as the internal cavity and seal means between the pressure balance zone and the second compressor stage for restricting gas pressure communication between the pressure balance zone and the second compressor stage.
  • the housing includes spaced bearing seats at the inward ends of flanges defining the barrier walls between the internal cavity and the respective first and second compressor stages, the bearings carrying a rotary member, at least one opening in the flange between the first compressor stage and the internal cavity constituting the pressure equalization means, a passage in the flange between the internal cavity and the second compressor stage constituting the means for equalizing the pressures in the pressure balance zone and the internal cavity and wherein the seal means is constituted by a close clearance between the second flange and the rotary member for limiting the flow of gas from the pressure balance zone to the second compressor stage.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Applications Or Details Of Rotary Compressors (AREA)
  • Structures Of Non-Positive Displacement Pumps (AREA)
US625423A 1967-03-23 1967-03-23 Apparatus for preventing gas flow through bearings Expired - Lifetime US3411707A (en)

Priority Applications (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US625423A US3411707A (en) 1967-03-23 1967-03-23 Apparatus for preventing gas flow through bearings
GB03557/68A GB1166012A (en) 1967-03-23 1968-03-20 Apparatus for Preventing Gas Flow Through Bearings
NL6804057A NL6804057A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1967-03-23 1968-03-21
FR1559385D FR1559385A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1967-03-23 1968-03-22

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US625423A US3411707A (en) 1967-03-23 1967-03-23 Apparatus for preventing gas flow through bearings

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3411707A true US3411707A (en) 1968-11-19

Family

ID=24506008

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US625423A Expired - Lifetime US3411707A (en) 1967-03-23 1967-03-23 Apparatus for preventing gas flow through bearings

Country Status (4)

Country Link
US (1) US3411707A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
FR (1) FR1559385A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
GB (1) GB1166012A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
NL (1) NL6804057A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0126477A1 (en) * 1983-05-20 1984-11-28 NIPPON PISTON RING CO., Ltd. Rotor-shaft bearing apparatus for movable vane compressors
US4889475A (en) * 1987-12-24 1989-12-26 Tecumseh Products Company Twin rotary compressor with suction accumulator
US6200086B1 (en) 1999-08-04 2001-03-13 Sundyne Corporation Thermal barrier for use in a mechanical seal assembly
FR3045722A1 (fr) * 2015-12-17 2017-06-23 Valeo Systemes De Controle Moteur Compresseur electrique avec systeme d'etancheite dynamique ameliore
US9970450B1 (en) 2017-01-26 2018-05-15 Borgwarner Inc. Vented bearing retainer for turbomachines
DE102018115161A1 (de) * 2018-06-25 2020-01-02 Ebm-Papst St. Georgen Gmbh & Co. Kg Elektromotor

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2521650A1 (fr) * 1982-02-16 1983-08-19 Cit Alcatel Pompe rotative a vide eleve
JPH054747U (ja) * 1991-03-08 1993-01-22 三菱電機株式会社 回転電動機械の軸受箱構造

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2973135A (en) * 1956-12-21 1961-02-28 Garrett Corp Seal for refrigerant compressor
US3128713A (en) * 1958-09-26 1964-04-14 Fmc Corp Hydraulic pump
US3355095A (en) * 1966-02-01 1967-11-28 Singer Co Combined casing and noise muffler for a vortex fan
US3365122A (en) * 1966-02-02 1968-01-23 Rotron Mfg Co Centrifugal blower

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2973135A (en) * 1956-12-21 1961-02-28 Garrett Corp Seal for refrigerant compressor
US3128713A (en) * 1958-09-26 1964-04-14 Fmc Corp Hydraulic pump
US3355095A (en) * 1966-02-01 1967-11-28 Singer Co Combined casing and noise muffler for a vortex fan
US3365122A (en) * 1966-02-02 1968-01-23 Rotron Mfg Co Centrifugal blower

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0126477A1 (en) * 1983-05-20 1984-11-28 NIPPON PISTON RING CO., Ltd. Rotor-shaft bearing apparatus for movable vane compressors
US4889475A (en) * 1987-12-24 1989-12-26 Tecumseh Products Company Twin rotary compressor with suction accumulator
US6200086B1 (en) 1999-08-04 2001-03-13 Sundyne Corporation Thermal barrier for use in a mechanical seal assembly
FR3045722A1 (fr) * 2015-12-17 2017-06-23 Valeo Systemes De Controle Moteur Compresseur electrique avec systeme d'etancheite dynamique ameliore
US9970450B1 (en) 2017-01-26 2018-05-15 Borgwarner Inc. Vented bearing retainer for turbomachines
DE102018115161A1 (de) * 2018-06-25 2020-01-02 Ebm-Papst St. Georgen Gmbh & Co. Kg Elektromotor

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
FR1559385A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1969-03-07
GB1166012A (en) 1969-10-01
NL6804057A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1968-09-24

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